


Whirlwind

by Araesson, Arlewena



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Abusive Dursley Family, BAMF Prussia (Hetalia), BAMF South Italy, Bad Touch Trio, Female Harry Potter, I dare you to call him that to his face, M/M, Mama Bear South Italy, Multi, Protective Prussia, Prussia kidnaps the girl-who-lived, it was for a good cause okay?!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:52:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14005596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araesson/pseuds/Araesson, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlewena/pseuds/Arlewena
Summary: Prussia might have failed the most recent BTT mission, but he's got more pressing problems to worry about. Like the fact that he had just kidnapped a little girl- granted, maybe he was supposed to be figuring out how to do that, but the original plan had been to scare England, he wasn't going to keep the girl! This wasn't even the right girl! And now, Romano was acting really weird... he was actually being almost nice. Romano. Nice. Wow, that sounded strange. Send reinforcements immediately!Also, who was going to explain the almost-burned-down kitchen to West?





	1. Prussia

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a story the pair have us have been toying with for some time, and we decided we should probably share it. 
> 
> We do not own Hetalia or Harry Potter.

The ex-nation of Prussia was in the midst of a vitally important scouting mission. The mission was a classified matter of great import; in fact, only two other beings knew of its existence.

This secret matter drove him to wander through the lands of England, wearing a hoodie to hide the shade of his hair from any who weren’t looking for it. There was nothing to be done about his eyes, eyes that shifted from blood red to a sapphire blue depending upon lighting and his mood, though they tended to stick primarily to red. He was generally one to flaunt his unusual appearance, but certain matters required that he not draw too much attention to himself. He would prefer that England not hear of his presence quite yet, or the entire project could be compromised. 

The former nation more commonly referred to as Gilbert these days sighed and looked up at the dreary sky. He’d been wandering the rainy little island country for hours, searching any and all spots that had the feel of magic for news of his quarry. So far he’d had no luck. The young Irena Potter, so called ‘girl-who-lived’, could not be found. No one seemed to know of her whereabouts, only that she was safe and to rejoin the society when she attended school in six more years. 

It was ridiculous! The girl was supposed to be one of the most famous figures in that weirdo England’s magical society, yet no one seemed to have any true idea of where she was. It was said that the girl would be with one of the rich, prominent magical families who could keep her safe, but there was no word of any such family taking in a little girl. He should have been able to find at least one crazy stalker fan who had a better idea of things, but there had been none. The entire thing bothered Gilbert. Of course he was glad that people seemed to be allowing this poor little girl her own private life, but with how famous she was the idea of this much privacy should be laughable. 

Gilbert was beginning to think the BTT would have to think up a solution, or they’d have to admit defeat. England must have taken measures to keep the girl safe. Paranoid jerk. Then again, she would have many enemies, given how she’d become so famous. Such measures had probably saved her life. 

It sucked when safety got in the way of his having fun. It’s not like they would have hurt the girl, or even kept her long! They’d just planned on taking her for a day or two, then returning her home soon enough once they’d had their fun messing with England. 

He realized his feet had led him down a suburban street lined with perfectly tended houses that were so devoid of personality Gilbert was surprised he didn’t immediately wither away and die from the lack of awesomeness surrounding him. The day had turned to evening during his wanderings. A few of the neighborhood’s inhabitants were outside, all of which immediately gave him suspicious glances. 

Gilbert was perfectly willing to ignore all of the sad little ants who lived on the street until he heard the screams as he passed by Number Four. One of the front windows was open, a sudden breeze blowing aside the curtain and allowing him to see a glimpse of the scene from inside. 

A huge, walrus of a man had taken a little girl, only a toddler, by the neck and was shaking her around in the air. The little thing wasn’t making a sound, remaining limp. She might as well have been dead as the man raged at her. Gilbert didn’t know what exactly had happened, but just looking at the little girl was enough to make his blood boil. Her clothes were huge on her, in poor condition. Considering the shining car parked in the front, this was not the result of poverty. What skin he could see was marred with bruising. She was all skin and bones, clearly half-starved even at this distance. There was undoubtedly more he could not see. 

As the red-faced walrus man flung the girl out the open window, Gilbert was there to catch her in his arms. Cradling the girl to his chest, he threw back his hood and glared at the man who was gaping at him. Behind him, Gilbert could see a woman holding another child, this one overweight and in much better condition than the one in his arms.

Gilbert and the man stared at one another for some time, until Gilbert smirked, predatory and full of all the darkness that lay inside any nation. The man staggered back, throwing his arms out as if to protect the woman and child behind him as he cried, “D--demon!” 

“That’s me.” Gilbert chuckled, low and dark, “I’ll be seeing you again. Real soon.” With that he turned on his heel and stalked away. 

His anger quickly burned out as he made his way down the road. Prussia peeked down at the child in his arms, noticing the tears on her cheeks and how she was shaking. He didn’t know if it was from fear, pain, or maybe just the chill. 

It didn’t take him long to realize he’d just kidnapped a child. What should he do? He couldn’t just take her home, especially not since they were in an entirely different country. He didn’t even consider returning her, not to that horrid man.

He looked down to the little girl, and said, “Even though most people would consider this a kidnapping, I won’t take you where you don’t want to go. Where shall the awesome Gilbert Express take you? The police? An orphanage? Child services? Or do you have family that isn’t the scum of the earth?” He paused, and added as an afterthought, “I guess you could stay with me, if you wanted.” To his surprise, the girl looked up with striking wide green eyes and threw her arms about his neck. Gilbert faltered a moment, before he chuckled.

“I’ll take that as your answer, then. It’s going to be a bit of a trip, I live all the way in Berlin, in Germany, with my little brother, West. He’s a bit stiff, but he’s still got some awesomeness to him, thanks to my awesome older brother skills. We blame that silly Austria for his stiffness.” He had started prattling at this point, but his words seemed to calm her shakes. “We may have to use less than legal methods to get us out of the country, but I don’t think West will mind if I use my allowance to fund it. It’s for a good cause, so he should be okay with it even if he is a bit of a stickler for rules… you know what, what he doesn't know won’t hurt him. It’ll be our little secret. Glad you agree. Do you have a name?... Prefer not to say? Well, I suppose that’s fair. I  _ did  _ kidnap you, after all.” 

* * *

Hours later, he’d finally gotten them to Berlin and then he realized he had no idea what he was doing. Sure, he knew how to take care of a child, but he had basically kidnapped her. He had no idea about any medical issues he had to be aware of. He didn’t even live in his own house. He couldn’t raise a child in his brother’s basement, though he doubted West would kick the child out. The paperwork alone would be a nightmare. She hadn’t spoken to him yet, was she mute? He could work with it, but it would require even more paperwork. And then there was the psychological damage that could be done by abuse, that would last long after the physical had faded. He’d also have to feed her up.

Well, that was  _ one  _ thing he could do. He set the girl down on a chair in the kitchen, in his clear view, with a blanket and an old stuffed animal he’d managed to dig up. The girl had yet to say a word to him, but she’d started looking at him, finally. She had wide, knowing green eyes that followed him everywhere. 

He looked around in West’s refrigerator, pulling some things out, before turning to the stove. He frowned as he examined it. Truthfully, he hadn’t touched a stove in decades. Had they always looked so… strange? 

Gilbert squared his shoulders. No strange-looking stove could defeat him, the mighty kingdom of Prussia! He used to be a pretty awesome cook, he’d do fine. 

The stove seemed to disagree, deciding,  _ no, he would not do fine. _

Instead he’d end up burning West’s house down. 

The fire spread in record time as he tried to figure out how to turn the stupid thing off, and then tried to put the fire out as the alarms blared at him. So much for cooking for the child, at this point she’d starve, or burn to death before eating anything. If he couldn’t even do this right, how was he supposed to take care of her?!

And then, the door opened. His head whipped around as he tried to desperately think up an excuse to give West for being found in the midst of burning his house to the ground, when he saw instead the short italian. He watched as South Italy looked to him, to the child watching the fires curiously, with amusement at his predicament on her face, and then to the fire he’d mostly contained at this point. Gilbert was frozen, waiting for some reaction out of Lovino, likely involving a lot of yelling. This… this was even worse than if Germany had showed up! Could his day get any worse?

Only the yelling didn’t come. Instead the nation mutely rolled up his sleeves and began to help him put out the fire, without even asking what the child was about. No doubt he could see what bad shape the little girl was in. Wait, would he think  _ Gilbert  _ had done that?! Surely he knew Prussia well enough to know he wasn’t a child-abuser. Did he? Surely he would have removed the little girl from the situation, or shot Gilbert, called the authorities,  _ something.  _ Not this whole mute thing he had going on. And what was with that? Italy Romano was always yelling. Why wasn’t he now? Had he been possessed? Was that a thing? 

Once the fire was out, Gilbert slowly backed away from the other nation, retreating to the girl who was watching them with interest. In a vain attempt to shield himself from Lovino’s impending reaction-- not that the awesome Prussia needed anything to shield him, least of all a young child-- he picked the girl up and cradled her to his chest, making sure the blanket was firmly wrapped around her in the process. 

Romano stared at him, still completely silent. It was unnerving. Gilbert’s hand nervously fidgeted, which he disguised by running his fingers through the girl’s red hair. Lovino’s gaze finally broke away, only for a moment, as he turned his attention to the stove. With slow, deliberate movements the nation began to clean off the stove, threw out Gilbert’s pitiful attempt at food, and began to prepare to cook himself. All the while Lovino threw looks Prussia’s way. The silence was suffocating. His fidgeting turned to twitches under Romano’s gaze. 

Finally, Gilbert couldn’t take it anymore, and began to babble, “Look, the fire was an accident! And, okay, I’ve done a few illegal things today but they were for a good cause! I didn’t mean to kidnap her, but I couldn’t just give her back to that unawesome man! I didn’t know what else to do, and I did ask her where she wanted to go and she made it pretty clear she wasn’t leaving me and I just wanted to get her fed, and maybe I’m a little out of practice with modern ovens… Alright, and I also may have gotten us back into the country in less than legal ways, and used West’s money to do it, but I couldn’t exactly take her through customs! I could probably talk my way out of it, but it would take longer! I know she’s not one of my own, or even West’s, but even if she is England’s I couldn’t not… help her. I mean…” Words failed him as he was met with the unimpressed, judgemental look from not only Romano, but the little girl in his arms too. It was frankly terrifying. Lesser men would have screeched like a girl, hidden under a table, and maybe cried for their mother while they were at it (not that he’d ever admit it, but Gilbert might have let out a squeak of fright).

He had a bad feeling that this scene before him was a forecast of what he would often see in his future.

At last, Lovino sighed, “It’s a good thing you potato bastards keep the ingredients for pasta around for when my brother visits. We’re going to have to do something about those clothes of hers, not to mention her wounds. I was a doctor for a few years not too long ago, I think I should be able to handle that.Where are you planning on raising her, since you aren’t returning her to the proper authorities?” 

“Uh… here, I guess? I hadn’t really thought it through yet.” Gilbert admitted, shifting from foot to foot. The girl in his arms was smiling a little at him, seeming to take joy out of his predicament. At least someone was getting amusement out of this.

“Of course you haven’t.” Lovino replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “You can’t raise her in big and brawny’s basement. You don’t know what might be living down there, besides you, which is a whole other problem. I should have enough room in my own house, the one I don’t share with Veneziano. You can come stay too. Even if you can’t cook, you must be useful for something. I mean, you  _ are  _ friends with Spain-- then again, he’s friends with the Frenchie… and he’s only useful for very specific things, so perhaps the tomato bastard is not the best judge. Anyways, I’ll help sort out the legal matters, but not for you. Just for the bambina.” 

Gilbert honestly had no idea how he was supposed to react. Romano still hadn’t yelled at him. In fact he was being almost… nice? Maybe he really  _ was  _ possessed.

“Stop staring. Sit her down somewhere, and go wash your hands. Get a washcloth and clean her up a bit, too. I won’t be much longer.” Lovino ordered, waving the spoon he was using for the sauce at Prussia to accentuate his words. Gilbert didn’t dare disobey, too busy trying to make sense of this strange behavior. 

Soon South Italy had set a small plate in front of the child, the pasta cut up into bite-sized pieces. As he did so, he asked in a soft voice, “So, bambina, will you tell me your name?” 

“My name?” the girl answered to Gilbert’s astonishment, “Aunt and Uncle always call me Freak. I think that’s my name.” 

Prussia had to distract himself from how boiling  _ furious  _ that made him, so he blurted, “So you’ll talk to  _ him?!  _ I’ve been talking to you this entire time, and you haven’t said a word! I thought you were mute! What’s so special about him? I’m the awesome one, and you’re supposed to be  _ my  _ awesome little bird henchman!” He gave an over-exaggerated pout. 

“Shut up.” Lovino said, his voice very obviously barely controlled. He returned his attention to the girl and added, “We’ll think of a name for you when you’ve eaten. Freak is not a name.” With that he turned and returned to his pots, quickly making two more plates and shoving one at Prussia. Gilbert just barely remembered his manners enough to give a quick thank-you. 

“All this is for me?” the little girl asked, looking down at the plate with confusion. 

Gilbert nodded, “Of course. Grouchy Romano never would have given it to you if he didn’t mean for you to eat it.” As Lovino glared at him, the girl looked between them both, before she shrugged and took a bite. Before long she was nearly inhaling it she was eating so fast.

“Slow down, you’ll make yourself sick.” Romano warned gently, reaching over to dab around her mouth with a towel. 

As Prussia finished his own plate of pasta, he remarked with a smirk, “So I was thinking that a good name for my awesome new henchman would be Gil-girl. What do you think?” 

“That’s stupid. I won’t have you cursing the bambina with a bad name. I’ll be the one to name her.” Lovino snapped to the girl’s indifference. Lovino’s expression turned contemplative as he thought over the matter, before finally he said, “Perhaps Sarita?” 

“Nah. She’s not a princess, she’s an awesome knight-bird-henchman!” Gilbert retorted. Lovino shrugged and continued to think on it.

At last, Romano suggested, “Aella? What do you think?” he directed the question quite obviously to the little girl, who nodded vigorously before Prussia could argue against the idea. 


	2. Italy Romano

It was a strange experience, letting Prussia into his personal home. Lovino was pretty secretive about this place-- not even his fratello or Spain knew about it. The only one he’d ever told was Greece, but Greece was a completely different story, and he wasn’t the type to force himself into every part of South Italy’s life unlike everyone else. He wasn’t completely sure what had possessed him to allow the loud, annoying older brother of the emotionally constipated blonde into his home. Maybe he was having an off day. Well, he always did have a soft spot for little kids, and Aella was the sweetest little thing with those big green eyes of hers. Besides, he didn’t think it would be smart to separate Aella from the one person who she seemed to be extending tentative trust towards. 

It wasn’t like it was going to be a permanent solution, anyways. It was just until potato-for-brains figured something else out.

“The guest room is down the hall, to the right.” Lovino said as he took off his coat, motioning to the hall with his hand, “You can put your things there. Just make sure you clean up after yourself. I’m not your maid.” Romano hated cleaning, it never seemed to go right for him, so one of the quickest ways to make him truly angry was to mess up his house. He worked hard to keep it looking somewhat presentable. 

Prussia nodded, quickly ducking into the other room to set down his things. As he did that, Lovino carefully carried the sleeping girl he’d set on the couch into Greece’s usual room, gently tucking her in. He’d have to figure out a better solution later, but for now it would do. He was exhausted.

He rejoined Prussia in the main room, and said, “I don’t know exactly how this will work quite yet. I’m too tired for too much more thinking. As I said, just clean up after yourself and  _ don’t  _ touch my kitchen.” Gilbert winced at the reminder of his earlier stupidity. “You left a letter for your brother, right?” 

“Yeah. Just told him I’d be bunking with you for a bit.” Prussia replied casually. Romano could imagine the potato bastard’s reaction to  _ that.  _ He’d probably worry if his brother was still living. 

“So what were you doing over at West’s house anyway?” Prussia asked after a length of silence. 

Romano scowled, “I couldn’t find my brother. I assumed he was spending time with yours and I was going to drag him back home. He always disappears off to who-knows-where. I should call that other friend of his… what was his name… Japan, right. Eh, I can just call tomorrow.”

* * *

 

Tomorrow came, and Lovino did not call. 

He woke up later than he usually did, though it was still quite early since he’d always been an early riser. Aella was still sleeping, so he started on coffee and breakfast, which seemed to lead Prussia into the room quickly enough, his little bird-- Gilbird, wasn’t it?-- fluttering down onto Lovino’s shoulder. Romano scowled at the yellow bird. 

“I am not your perch.” he remarked, but the bird didn’t seem to care and Lovino wasn’t going to throw the bird off, so he just resigned himself to his little companion as he shoved a cup of coffee at Prussia, saying, “Make yourself useful and go wake Aella.” 

“The awesome me will do as you ask!” Gilbert exclaimed, seeming to have regained his usual energy that had been lacking slightly from the night before. Romano only rolled his eyes. They’d have to go shopping, get Aella clothes and toys, and he’d have to start thinking what to do about rooms for everyone. He couldn’t get rid of Greece’s room, he’d made it so the other nation would have a nice place to retreat at need. But Aella needed her own room. Maybe he could have Gilbert move into Greece’s room and move to the couch when Heracles visited? It wouldn’t be a good permanent solution, but then again they shouldn’t need one. Or perhaps Romano could move things around in his office and move Prussia there for the time being. For all of the ex-nation’s oddities, Lovino didn’t think he’d ruin all of his things in there. He’d been respectful enough when he’d visited the house Romano shared with Feliciano. Then he could convert the guest room that Gilbert was in right now into a room for Aella, stocked with an overabundance of toys because Romano was self-aware enough to realize anything she looked at with interest would be bought. He’d have to dip into his savings for sure. He wasn’t sure how much money Prussia had access to since he was no longer a nation, but he’d mentioned he had some access to his brother’s money and since he seemed to do some work in the potato bastard’s government he had to have some sort of paycheck. 

Prussia returned with Aella in tow, with a huge smile on his face as the shirt that the girl was wearing, probably one of Prussia’s, brushed the ground as she toddled after him. 

“Could you control your bird?” Romano asked, motioning to his unwanted companion (ignoring the fact that he’d fed the bird a little piece of food. Maybe birds were good taste-testers). As soon as the sentence was out of his mouth, the bird took flight and settled in Aella’s hair. Her bright green eyes (they made Romano think of some unholy mix of Spain and England’s shades) looked up with interest.

“Bird.” Aella commented. 

Prussia, with that damned soft smile of his that Romano had never known him capable of, kneeled down and said, “His name is Gilbird, and he’s the awesomest bird in existence.” Gilbird preened at that, as if he could understand his owner’s words. Perhaps he could-- bonds were known to exist between nations and animals that often gave the animals human-like intelligence, and sometimes more. 

Aella smiled, and Romano melted. Just a little. She was adorable, okay? Prussia’s smile widened, and he reached forward to ruffle her messy red curls. 

Within a few minutes, they’d all settled down for breakfast at his dining room table, in a scene that was sickeningly domestic, and rather surreal given that the other one involved was Prussia. If someone had told him this would be his morning yesterday, he would have asked what asylum they’d wandered out of. It wasn’t like he even knew Prussia all that well, they’d kind of existed just barely outside of each other’s spheres for centuries. Young children had some sort of freaky magical power over adults, even him. You couldn’t even be mad at them for it, not really. 

Speaking of young children, how old was Aella? Romano stared at the fork in his hand, before his gaze slowly trailed up to Prussia.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how old Aella is, would you?” Romano asked, fearing he knew the answer already. It was only confirmed when Prussia froze. It took several moments for him to recover, but by then Lovino had already continued, “Of course you don’t. Why would you know information that would make my life easier?” 

He turned to Aella, praying that the universe would finally cash in that lucky break he really deserved at this point for dealing with this colossal mess (seriously, a kidnapping? Why had he gotten involved?! Okay, fine, the girl was cute and it wasn’t her fault Prussia was an idiot), “Aella, could you tell me how old you are?” 

The girl appeared minorly distressed to have to pause in eating, but she still shrugged and said, “I’m not sure. I know Dudley is almost five, but Aunt says freaks don’t get birthdays.” 

The fork in Romano’s hand snapped, just as he heard the slam of Prussia’s fork onto his plate hard enough to crack the porcelain. There was a long silence as both nations tried to reign in their anger, the only sounds being from Aella as she continued to eat as if she didn’t know when her next meal would be. 

At last, Prussia forced a smile, “Well,  _ I’m  _ a freak, and I say freaks get birthdays, except theirs are awesomer than all the normal boring ones!” Aella’s eyes went wide. 

“You’re a freak, too?” she said with wonder. There was something heartbreaking about this entire scene, Romano thought, biting the inside of his cheek. 

Prussia nodded, “Of course. I’ve been a freak longer than you’ve been alive, so I’d say I know what I’m talking about.” Romano abruptly stood up, drawing the eyes of both of his companions, Aella’s wary and Prussia’s surprised. Lovino had to force his gaze away from Aella. So many of her reactions were just making him angrier, but he knew anger would not help, not here. He’d rarely felt the need to hide his fury, making swallowing it back all the harder. 

“Prussia, can I talk to you a moment?” Romano asked, forcing his voice into something resembling level. 

Lovino stalked out of the room, gritting his teeth. He leaned against the counter, his hands clenching as he tried to regain control. He took a deep breath as Prussia appeared, hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes burning red. 

“Sorry.” Romano said absently, his eyes darting around for something to occupy his mind that would help to calm him. His fingers started drumming on the counter in an angry little beat. This was a time he half-wished he hadn’t quit smoking.

As if voicing his thoughts, Prussia commented, “Damn, I need a smoke.” Romano let out a bark of laughter at that. Understatement of the century. 

Once Lovino felt a little calmer, he asked, “What information  _ do  _ you know about her?” His voice was a little more confrontational than he’d meant, but that was nothing new. He always sounded confrontational.

“I know exactly where those charming relatives of hers live. Already told them to expect another visit from me.” his smirk was more like a wolf showing teeth.

Romano jerked his head, “I don’t care if you mind an extra, I’m coming.” He leaned a little to the side, catching a glimpse of Aella occupied with her plate. He felt his anger drain for the most part, and he sighed. “Seriously, what do you know? I have to know what we’re working with.” 

Prussia remained silent, his gaze flicking to the dining room, and then to the ceiling. “Not much, to tell you the truth. She was literally thrown out the window, and I caught her. Didn’t stick around after that. Before that I caught a few seconds of yelling…” Prussia’s voice turned to a hiss, “His hands were around her neck.” 

Lovino picked up the hideous little jar Feliciano had given him several Christmases ago and hurled it across the room, watching it shatter on his wall. Gilbert tapped him, before jerking his hand in the direction of the dining room as a reminder that Aella would have heard the shatter of glass. 

“Fuck. Right.” Romano said. He grabbed a bowl laying on the counter and went to go clean up the mess. Couldn’t have shattered glass laying around with a little one in the house. As he went to pick up one of the bigger shards, he realized his hands were trembling. Mixed with his usual luck in cleaning things, it meant he ended up cutting his hand. 

Lovino stared at the blood trickling down his wrist and just wanted to break down into tears.

“Hey, are you-- no that’s stupid, uh-- Shit, do you need me to get you something, like a towel-- or where are the bandages?” Prussia seemed rather off balanced as he gently took Romano’s bleeding hand and inspected it. 

“Yeah, under the sink.” Romano answered, motioning towards the kitchen. This day was just not going his way. Granted, things didn’t seem to like going his way too often. As Prussia went to fetch the first aid kit, Lovino just sat there, looking at the glass, and his hand, and thinking that Feliciano would be upset if he found out that he’d destroyed that stupid jar. It’s not like Feliciano even knew where this house was, so he probably wouldn’t. Probably. Anyways, it was an ugly jar. He was kind of relieved to have an excuse to get rid of the thing. 

Prussia soon returned, quickly wrapping a bandage around the wound as Romano just stared. He didn’t really know what else to do. He should probably keep cleaning up the glass. He reached to do that with his free hand, before Prussia smacked his hand away.

“No, you already injured yourself! I’ll get it, go sit over there or something.” Gilbert ordered with a vague gesture towards the couch. 

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Romano answered half-heartedly as he got up to go sit on the couch. It was comfortable, and it wasn’t like he really wanted to clean. 

As Prussia carefully disposed of the glass, Lovino said, “I was thinking we should take her shopping today. But first I’ll have to go get her some clothes, can’t walk around in your shirt all day. I think I need a moment away either way, but do you think you’ll be alright looking after Aella?” 

“Of course. Me and the kid will be fine.” Prussia replied. 

Romano nodded, and stood. He grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone, but paused at the door to turn back to Gilbert, “Just don’t touch my fucking stove.”

Prussia gave a little half-smile, “I’m never living that one down.”


	3. Prussia

Once Romano was out the door, Prussia heard a soft voice say, “He was angry at me, wasn’t he?”

Gilbert turned to see Aella peeking hesitantly out the archway separating the two rooms, clinging onto the wall and ready to duck behind it at the slightest sign of danger.

“No, he’s not angry with you.” Gilbert replied, soft so as not to startle her.

“But he is angry. And you are too. What did… did I say something wrong?” Aella replied, too adult for her body.

Cautiously, Gilbert approached her, kneeling down to be at her level and less intimidating, “We are angry. But you didn’t say anything wrong, and we are not angry with you.”

Aella was silent for a long time, giving him a searching look that he thought peered into his soul. He waited quietly as she did, wondering what was on her mind.

“Then why are you angry?” she asked quietly, her eyes downcast. Aella seemed cautious about asking him questions, but the fact that she was willing to give him a chance and ask them anyway was more than he expected considering what he’d taken her from.

Gilbert took a deep breath, thinking out his response carefully. At last, he said, “We are angry because what your relatives did was wrong.”

“Why?”

“Because no matter what, no one deserves to be treated as you were.” Gilbert replied. She considered his words in silence. When she didn’t say anything for several moments, only staring at him with her haunting green eyes as she clutched at the front of the shirt she wore, he smiled and asked, “Do you want to draw a picture for Romano? If we start now, we’ll have a pretty picture to give him by the time he gets back.”

When Aella nodded, he took her hand and led her to the coffee table. After a quick retrieval of a couple of pieces of paper and two pencils, they got to work. Prussia had no idea where any other art supplies were, or if Romano would be okay with him breaking into them, so the pencils would have to do for now. Aella seemed pleased enough with them anyways, spending a few moments just admiring them from every angle before cautiously putting one to paper, and seeming fascinated by the process of it leaving a mark. She even tried it against her finger a few times, causing Gilbert to stifle chuckles- not wanting to distract her. He was itching to pull out his phone and start taking pictures of her face… and after realizing there was no real reason _not_ to, did just that. She didn’t spare him more than a curious glance upon him first pulling his phone out of his pocket before returning to her fascination with the pencil. She seemed to be more experimenting with what it could do than actually drawing- she’d spent nearly a whole five minutes playing around with the effect of the eraser. Prussia figured there was no harm in letting her figure it out herself however. If she started to seem frustrated he would step in, but until then he would just sit back and enjoy capturing her expressions- he figured Romano would appreciate the photos (and the short video he shot) at least, even if he didn’t actually end up receiving a finished drawing.

By the time Romano arrived, a few bags on his arms, Aella had become fascinated with the different shape of the pencil tip that had flattened from use. Prussia looked up at Romano with a grin, motioning to the focused child, who had spared one glance to the door when it opened, but had then returned to inspecting the pencil.

Romano set the bags down, and approached the coffee table where the other two had set up shop. He leaned his hip against the couch as he watched Aella.

Aella finally put down the pencil, picking up the paper she’d used during her experimentation. Then she turned, and presented it to Romano.

“For you.” she explained quietly. And Romano smiled.

Prussia had to stifle a squeal. This was just too much cuteness for him to handle. He would probably die if Gilbird decided to get in on the action, but the bird had taken up his perch on Gilbert’s shoulder and appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere else.

“Grazie. I have somethings for you here too, Aella,” Prussia was still taken aback by the acknowledgement of how _gentle_ South Italy’s voice could be when talking to the little girl. He felt Gilbird ruffle up his feathers to resituate them, as if he too was unsettled by the realization.

Aella didn’t respond at first, her eyes huge in her face as Romano gently took the picture from her, holding it close to his chest for a moment before going to the kitchen and hanging it on the fridge with a magnet. He then walked over to the bags and started to pull out a few little dresses, “We’ll get some more in the right sizes and that you get to help choose, but these should fit well enough for today and around the house. Why don’t you pick one and try it on?”

She looked uncertainly between Romano’s face and the dresses in front of her, sparing a nervous look over at Prussia as if expecting to be stopped at any moment, before gently reaching out and touching one of the dresses. Almost immediately her hand snatched back, a look of fright on her face as she quickly glanced up at Romano. With what Prussia thought seemed an unusual amount of patience for the normally short-tempered nation South Italy didn’t say anything, simply letting her look with a neutral expression on his face. Slowly, warily, she reached out again to touch the sky-blue dress, running her hands gently over it, fascinated by the texture of the dress as she had been by the pencil, before asking in a small disbelieving voice that damn near broke Gilbert’s heart, “Is this _really_ for _me_?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Romano slowly- carefully broadcasting his movements, reach down and lift the dresses and then place them into still outstretched arms, “Of course Piccola, they are all just for you.”

She only stared at the fabric in her arms with wonder, not seeming to be able to do much more for several long moments, until she burst out, “Is this what the sky feels like?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to go see sometime.” South Italy replied, another smile coming onto his face (how did she manage it?!) “How about you go get dressed, and then we’re going to go out shopping to get you more things.”

 _"More?”_ she repeated, dumbfounded, “But-- but, you already gave me this…”

Prussia nodded and proclaimed, “Of course! As my little henchman, you must be properly outfitted and geared!”When he caught Romano’s eye roll, his smirk widened. “Go get changed so we can begin the mission.”

As Aella went to do just that, Romano turned to Gilbert and said, “I couldn’t guess her shoe size, so that will have to be our first stop.”

“Until then I can just carry her.” Prussia replied with a shrug. He knew from prior experience that she weighed less than she should, making it no trouble to carry her long distances with his strength. He wasn’t quite sure how comfortable she was around others yet, either.

The girl soon returned, running her hands along the sleeves of the dress she’d been given. Prussia was impressed by how accurately Romano had managed to guess her size. Prussia would venture a guess that she had never had anything so well-fitting in her life.

“Are you ready then?” Gilbert asked. The girl nodded, not saying a word. Prussia only smiled and said, “Well, until we get you some shoes, I’m going to be carrying you. Is that alright?”

The girl nodded without hesitation. Gilbert scooped her up into his arms, and turned to Lovino. “So how are we getting there?”

“I thought we’d Step there, or at least to one of the bus stops in Naples. That way we can get there quicker, and we can still enjoy the ride and the scenery.” Romano answered as he picked up his wallet once more.

Prussia frowned, glancing at the girl in his arms, “Are you sure you want to with the kid here?”

“I don’t see why not.” Lovino shrugged.

Gilbert smirked. He knew there had been more to the older Italian than had met the eye. Here he was, casually breaking rules! Why didn’t he hang out with this guy more?

Oh, right. Spain would kill him if Prussia so much as looked to be considering pursuing his Italian.

“Alright, hold on.” South Italy ordered. Prussia made sure the girl in his arms was secure before taking the offered hand and taking a step as Romano did.

As his foot touched down, their scenery changed completely. Instead of being in the front room of Lovino’s home, they were on the side of a road. The sun was warm. Aella looked around curiously, but did not comment on their sudden teleportation quite yet.

Romano straightened his collared button-up, and before long was leading them through the city like only a nation on their land could, every so often pointing something out to Gilbert and Aella and giving them strange asides. Many of them included Spain, but one memorable tale brought in Greece, Turkey, and a mixture of cats and priceless ancient artifacts as weaponry. That particular story made Aella giggle a little, despite the wary glance she gave Gilbert as soon as she had caught herself.

On their way to purchase shoes for Aella, Gilbert was called twice by his brother. He ignored it both times. He imagined Ludwig had found the kitchen at this point, and was not looking forward to that. It wasn’t that badly damaged, but West would have a fit. Really, it was for the best that Prussia gave him time to cool down before talking to him again. As a bonus, West couldn’t hunt him down so well because Romano had an awesome hideout!

It did not take them long to find her plenty of shoes. Aella had seemed overwhelmed by the choices, so Prussia had ended up funding the purchase of more shoes than he’d ever bought in one go before. And he’d had to buy apology shoes for both Hungary and France before, at the same time! He had insisted on paying for them, since Romano had already spent money on her clothing and obviously planned to spend more. Gilbert still resolutely ignored his phone.

On their way to the next store, Aella now in shoes and thus walking on her own, Lovino’s phone was the one to ring. He glared for a moment at the screen, then showed it to Gilbert. It read ‘Potato Bastard’. Then Romano put the phone to his ear.

“What the hell do you want?” Romano demanded, in a tone much closer to his usual harshness.

Wait. Would Romano sell him out?

He heaved a sigh of relief as Lovino snipped, “Why would _I_ know where your brother is?! We’re not even friends.”

Okay, the way he said that one kind of hurt. It must have showed on his face, because Romano shot him a very judging look moments later. A moment later at a sudden touch, he jerked and looked down, only to see Aella had wrapped her arms around one of his legs.

That was adorable. Prussia couldn’t help but let out a squeal, before Romano’s hand slapped to his mouth to silence him.

Over the phone, Gilbert could hear the sharp, “What was that?” from his brother. Oh. He’d been a bit loud. But Aella was just so cute! Like Gilbird!

“A bunch of teenage girls squealing over this poor woman’s child and trying to shatter my fucking eardrums.” Romano lied as naturally as breathing. What?! He wasn’t a teenage girl! He was the awesome Prussia! Since the hand was still over his mouth, thus silencing his protests, he gave the best silent one he could think of by licking Lovino’s hand.

Romano, surprisingly, only shot him a glare that would have struck lesser men dead, his hand not moving in the slightest. He finished up his call, and then his hands went to his hips as he stared Gilbert down.

“That was disgusting.” Lovino snapped, “I expect that kind of thing from man-children like Spain. Grow up. I have no idea where you’ve been, and what little I know is disturbing enough! Now I have to go dip my hand in bleach or something. And--” Romano suddenly fell silent, his eyes quickly snapping to Aella, who had let go of Prussia’s leg. The girl was busy looking around at the nearby storefronts, and didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by Romano’s raised voice. Curious. She’d reacted earlier when they’d gotten angry, and they hadn’t even raised their voices that time (then again, the snapped utensils might have given that one away).

They’d made it a good way down the road, before Gilbert noticed that Aella was no longer right beside him and nearly had a heart attack until he realized she had only strayed a little behind him. At first he thought it was just an accident, but after she repeatedly lagged behind he began to worry.

Romano’s lips became a firm line as he turned to regard Aella after she had once more fallen behind. “Aella. Are you tired?”

She slowed to a stop a few paces away. Her eyes slid to the ground, and she shook her head. Aella tugged on a strand of wild red hair-- a nervous tick, perhaps?

“Then why do you keep falling behind?” Lovino asked. She remained silent.

Romano and Prussia exchange a glance. Gilbert looked back to the silent girl. At last he smiled, and kneeled down in front of her.

“How about a ride on my shoulders?” he asked the girl. “Maybe you’ll be able to see what the sky feels like.” Her eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly. Gilbert scooped her up into his arms, and set her upon his shoulders. One hand grabbed at his hair, while the other reached up.

Gilbert met Lovino’s gaze and explained, “Problem solved. Lead on.”


End file.
